THE LURE OF treasure hunting has called
to everyone at some point or another.
(Costco members experience it every time
they visit the warehouse.) But for some, the
call is stronger.

“I started it as a hobby with my kids.After we found our first ring, we werehooked on ring-finding,” says Dan Roekle,a Middleton, Wisconsin, Costco member.“And after about two years of doing it, Iactually turned it into a business.”The calls to find lost rings are increas-ing, but the venture is not quite lucrativeenough for Roekle to quit his day job.

“It’s a side business that I do on nightsand weekends, or as often as my wife letsme get out,” he explains. “But during theday, I’m an IT guy. I sit behind a desk staringat a computer screen, so when the phonegoes off with a lost-ring hunt, I jump at theopportunity to get out and explore nature.I bring my kids along, too, which is great.”Roekle started searching for rings in2011. “Somebody had posted a lost ring adon Craigslist,” he recalls. “We had a metaldetector, so we said, ‘Let’s go see if we canhelp him out.’ We went out and, about 30minutes into the search, we had found it.”They got a warm feeling and a smallreward for their efforts and, in 2013, Lostand Found Ring ( lostandfoundring.com)was born. Most searches come from peoplewho have found Roekle on Google, or fromstories in local papers or word-of-mouth.He has driven as long as six hours one-wayto get to an assignment.

Roekle says ring-finding is not about
simply knowing how to use a metal detector.
“Ring-finding is an investigative process,”
he says. “Before we even start searching, we
ask a lot of questions. I encourage people to
write down everything, everywhere they
were, while their memories are fresh.

It’s those tiny details sometimes thatlead us to the right spot.”When Roekle does get paid forhis efforts, he tends to put the moneyinto new and better equipment. Butsometimes a plea for help leads tomore than money.

“Just the look on people’s faces,”
observes Roekle, “is enough of a payment most times.”—SF

MEMBERCONNECTION

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Hunting treasures

IT’S NO SECRET that cats are having their
moment. The internet is rife with videos showing kitties of all ages in all their glory. Kolleen Fox,
a Costco member in Sedro-Woolley, Washington,
says, “Cats are amazing. They’re the perfect
package of grace and function and symmetry.

They’re wild, but they’re domesticated.”So it was natural for her to want to get intobusiness with the furry felines, which led to thecreation of Cat Nap Inn ( catnapinn.com), a bed-and-breakfast just for cats, in Alger, Washington,about an hour and a half north of Seattle.

“I was in the health care insurance industry,and I wanted to love going to work every day,”Fox explains. “I stumbled across an articleabout luxury boarding facilities, and I startedresearching. I went to a how-to class; I traveledfive states and Canada. It took three years, andI opened my doors [in 1999]. It was a dreamcome true.”Since then, Cat Nap Inn has welcomed

2,500 “guests.” Twenty-five rooms, with eithera window or a virtual fish tank, are available forfinicky visitors. There are six levels of rooms, orsuites, from the Executive Studio at $20 a nightfor one cat to the Gone Birding Suite at $48 anight for one cat. Kitties are kept separatedunless they’re from the same household andget along. Each suite has its own HEPA ventila-tion, so the cats never share air.

“The facility was designed for cats,” Foxemphasizes. “Everything was built with healthand safety and what cats like in mind. While loveand play come with our rates, we offer all sortsof extra services. Many people indulge them-selves when they go on vacation, and [they] liketo do the same for their kitties. We have ourSpoil Me menu. It features Tasty Treats, whichis a Shrimpsicle or the Surf No Turf [wild Alaskansalmon], and our fantastic turndown service,aka the Sweet Dreams Package, which includesa cozy blanket, a Snuggle Safe [a heated micro-wave pad that stays warm up for 10 hours] anda bedtime snack.”In fact, the cats are treated so well, theyoften balk at going home with mom and dad.“Sometimes people get a little offended,” Foxsays. “I tell them that’s a good thing—a goodthing that they’re not in a rush to go home.”

—Steve Fisher

Dan Roekle hunting treasure with
his trusty metal
detector.

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Above: A staff member
has reading time with
a guest. Below: Owner
Kolleen Fox with a
frequent visitor.